Territorial A-Z

Diary, scattered entriesAuthors:Adair, Samuel LyleDate: September 10, 1854, through February 7, 1861The diary entries are very scattered. The first entry indicated that Adair and his wife were considering coming to Kansas. The other entries relate to daily activities and Adair's ministry. He often mentioned who he visited and who was ill. The entry for Feb. 4, 1861, noted that Kansas had been admitted to the Union.

Keywords:Adair, Samuel Lyle; Admission, Kansas (see also Statehood); Diaries; Free state activities; Lykins County, Kansas Territory (see also Miami County, Kansas); Miami County, Kansas (see also Lykins County, Kansas Territory); Osawatomie, Kansas Territory; ReligionJourney from Massachusetts to KansasAuthors:Allen, Chestina BowkerDate: October 17, 1854 - April 22, 1858Chestina Bowker Allen traveled to Kansas Territory from Roxbury, Massachusetts, with her husband Asahel Gilbert Allen and five children--William, Charles, Henrietta, John, and Abbie. Apparently, they were members of the third company sent by the New England Emigrant Aid Company and began the journey to Kansas Territory in October, 1854. While the title indicated it recorded the journey to the territory, it actually documented their first three years in Kansas Territory. Mrs. Allen described their journey west with stops in Kansas City and Lawrence. They eventually settled near Rock Creek in Pottawatomie County. She wrote about many of her daily activities including assisting neighbors when ill. She mentioned a cholera epidemic in the area in 1855. She wrote about various rumors and encounters with free state supporters (which the Allen family was) and proslavery groups. She provided a great deal of information about living conditions and the price and availability of various goods. She wrote about her husband and older sons going to various communities to work and also about people that visited their home and those who boarded with them. She provided fairly stereotypical descriptions of Native Americans.The document appeared to be recopied from an original diary and included some penciled in corrections and a few annotations from a later time.